04/28/2011

The Extra Hand Belongs to Michelle Obama's Mother. (Yeesh!)

So let me ask you a question. Am I wrong with getting upset when I receive a note from Jim Romenesko on Twitter saying he's about to publish a post about an extra hand that readers see in my photo of President Obama's arrival yesterday? Or as he pointedly asked me, is "Photoshop OK with Trib"? (A question he knows the answer to - otherwise he wouldn't write a post). He says readers are demanding an answer. I then start to get notes from my editors, who he has also emailed, inquiring about this seeming discrepancy. A New York Times editor tweets that the photo, "bears mark of Photoshop." A social media storm ensues.

Ok, I'll play along. I didn't just use Photoshop to clone the hand of Marian Robinson, the mother of Michelle Obama. I photoshopped her entire body into the other pictures! It makes them so much better, don't you think? So what if the entire Chicago and Washington D.C. press pool is recording the same exact moment? No one will notice.

All sarcasm aside, it's against Tribune policy to do such a thing. As Romenesko knows very well, other photographers have been fired over this kind of thing. Sorry to disappoint you Jim.

For Jimmy-come-latelys to this blog, I give tips on Tuesdays to people interested in becoming better photographers. One of my most popular blog posts is about 7 Mistakes to Avoid as a Photographer. The last tip on my list is about how Photoshop can get you fired. We've all seen it happen to talented photojournalists.

Using Photoshop for more than basic toning is wrong and pointless. Nowadays you've got an internet mob eager to drag your reputation into question. Now you know what I mean about Photoshop.

There are readers, bloggers and even fellow journalists who love to play "Gotcha!" with journalists.

I initially saw this image on Reddit, and immediately assumed that it was Photoshopped, because there is no evidence of a third person in the picture. I was glad, upon searching for your name, to see that you've already addressed the matter.

On one hand, you did nothing wrong, and you're right to be a little annoyed at being accused of something you didn't do. On the other hand, it's important to point out lapses in photo-journalistic integrity where they exist, and this initially appeared to be one of those lapses.

Funny. This made me laugh out loud, especially since you are the most ethical photojournalist I have ever met, with incredibly high standards. You've written about it on your blog countless times. Thanks for the explanation. Fascinating discussion. Glad your editors defended you and their editing choices with class. Romenesko's snarky search was unnecessary. He could have handled it better. Makes me question HIM.

Wow I can not actually believe that someone even conceived the idea of the hand being photoshopped in the image. Geez, you can see the pants of her mother behind her and by the way, the image would look better without the hand, no offense Alex, but it's not like we can just take that out.

Well it sure seems like Romenesko is looking for and creating controversy where none exists to boost traffic to his blog. Tacky journalism, very transparent. Bravo to you for handling it well and turning it into a teaching moment. We always look for your Tuesday Tips. Great stuff.

Why did you stop with just one hand, Alex? The thing that photo lacked was "hand". Just like cowbell. Like Walken can't get enough cowbell, we can't get enough "hand". Four wasn't enough, and five is barely better. The whole background should be filled with hands. Hands, hands hands.

@Erin, you cannot be serious. This, I paraphrase, "appeared to be one of those photo-journalistic lapses"? To what possible purpose on this planet would Alex add a weirdly incongruous and disjointed "hand" between the Obamas? As pointed out above, it would be a stronger, cleaner image if the hand was photo-shopped OUT. It would only "appear to be one of those photo-journalistic lapses" to someone from another planet, a planet where disjointed hands float everywhere, and would be conspicuous by their absence.

"Apparently" a slow day in "apparent photo-journalistic lapses" for Romenesko would be a more Earth-based comment.

I'm not saying that adding a third hand in was a photo-journalistic lapse, though it would have been had he done that for some strange reason. I'm saying that if he had edited the image, probably by combining two images (and then, presumably, forgotten to remove the extra hand), THEN there would have been a lapse: in his initial editing of the picture. The evidence of that lapse would have been the extra, forgotten, hand. That wasn't the case, and I was glad to learn that.

No photoshop, if you look at the extra hand photo, look far right of Michelle below the hand rail, next to her yellow jacket, you can see a small bit of the gray from Marian Robinson coat (very small.) One of those right place at the right time shots.

It's a somewhat dodgy photo to be publishing regardless. There is the ghostly hand, Michelle's hair looks 'shopped, and his right arm looks half sized. It's the best of the sequence, but not really worth publishing IMHO.

I didn't see the story where this photo with the mystery hand was published, but I would say that is a lapse in the photo editor's selection. Tribune editors seem to be sloppy. Cutbacks or incompetence or simple laziness?

Yeesh :) Several months later, this photo is still popping all over as a "photoshop blunder". When people realize they're wrong, they go: "hey, Obama's right arm looks too small" "Michelle's hair looks weird" "The POTUS seal was pasted on" "The third hand should be photoshopped out" etc.
That is not a portrait, guys. It is photojournalism.

BTW, kudos to Alex Garcia for sharing his knowledge about photography.

It's pathetic that our country has come to this-- people so desperate to hate a sitting president that they have to manufacture any excuse to justify that hatred. What could possibly be gained by a photojournalist editing a photo to make it seem as if the President and first lady are holding hands? And how could this possibly foreshadow the feared slide into socialism that many of those forwarding this photo see? Our nation is facing some of the biggest challenges of its existence and way too many people are so out of touch with the reality of the situation that they are actually seeking out outrage.

No manufactured Hatred needed Chuck Domitrovich. We endured eight years of insults to President Bush. Pictures and movies. Now that we are dishing it back to the people who elected this scum bag the people who elected him can't admit they were wrong about his hope and change. This man has done nothing but blow smoke and take lavish vacations on our dime. What has he accomplished? Anything at all? What has he done to be the self proclaimed fourth best president ever? Added more to the national debt than all presidents before him combined? Is that a good thing in your eyes? The national debt continues to soar after Obama made us look like fools by turning and running from Iraq and Afghanistan. If there are no more wars then why does the debt continue to soar? I can't believe people are dumb enough to continue to support this man. Photo shopped birth certificate or not. He HAS to go. Our rights and our country is depending on it. If he gets another four years, I suggest you learn Chinese because that is where he will leave us.

The image was clearly PhotoShopped. I realize it's subtle, but if you look very closely you will see there is a red circle around the three hands in the top photo that doesn't appear in any of the others. An obvious attempt at deception.